Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed releases antediluvian malevolence, a chilling supernatural thriller, bowing October 2025 across top digital platforms

This spine-tingling paranormal terror film from cinematographer / filmmaker Andrew Chiaramonte, triggering an forgotten evil when unrelated individuals become proxies in a fiendish trial. Launching this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango streaming.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving saga of perseverance and mythic evil that will alter the horror genre this October. Visualized by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and claustrophobic feature follows five characters who suddenly rise isolated in a far-off house under the malevolent sway of Kyra, a female lead inhabited by a time-worn holy text monster. Ready yourself to be drawn in by a theatrical presentation that blends visceral dread with arcane tradition, arriving on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Possession by evil has been a iconic pillar in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that belief is twisted when the spirits no longer develop outside the characters, but rather inside them. This embodies the most sinister corner of the group. The result is a intense emotional conflict where the plotline becomes a unforgiving tug-of-war between good and evil.


In a wilderness-stricken landscape, five figures find themselves caught under the possessive force and grasp of a uncanny person. As the team becomes powerless to oppose her influence, severed and followed by terrors unnamable, they are forced to face their core terrors while the hours unceasingly counts down toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion mounts and associations dissolve, urging each figure to question their personhood and the idea of self-determination itself. The intensity magnify with every minute, delivering a terror ride that integrates unearthly horror with emotional fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to awaken instinctual horror, an evil that existed before mankind, working through human fragility, and exposing a presence that tests the soul when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Stepping into Kyra meant evoking something past sanity. She is in denial until the possession kicks in, and that flip is soul-crushing because it is so deep.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be released for on-demand beginning this October 2, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—ensuring fans in all regions can watch this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just uploaded a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, online to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its original promo, which has racked up over notable views.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has shared that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, bringing the film to a worldwide audience.


Don’t miss this visceral path of possession. Tune into *Young & Cursed* this launch day to acknowledge these evil-rooted truths about existence.


For behind-the-scenes access, on-set glimpses, and news from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YoungAndCursed across Facebook and TikTok and visit the official movie site.





The horror genre’s decisive shift: the 2025 cycle U.S. release slate melds primeval-possession lore, Indie Shockers, in parallel with Franchise Rumbles

Moving from survival horror grounded in old testament echoes through to canon extensions as well as sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is coalescing into the most variegated in tandem with tactically planned year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. the big studios hold down the year with familiar IP, simultaneously subscription platforms saturate the fall with first-wave breakthroughs alongside archetypal fear. On the independent axis, indie storytellers is propelled by the tailwinds from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. With Halloween holding the peak, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, and in 2025, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. Fans are ravenous, studios are disciplined, as a result 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: Premium dread reemerges

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 presses the advantage.

Universal’s schedule lights the fuse with a bold swing: a reimagined Wolf Man, set not in some misty 19th-century European village, within a sleek contemporary canvas. Under director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. arriving mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. From director Eli Craig and featuring Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

As summer wanes, Warner Bros. unveils the final movement from its bankable horror series: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Farmiga and Wilson return as the Warrens, the entry offers emotional coda while tackling one of their notorious real cases. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves reportedly keys a sorrowing, contemplative note in the capstone. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Derrickson re boards, and the tone that worked before is intact: retrograde shiver, trauma foregrounded, with ghostly inner logic. Here the stakes rise, with added layers to the “grabber” frame and long memory of loss.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The follow up digs further into canon, grows the animatronic horror lineup, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It drops in December, locking down the winter tail.

Digital Originals: Small budgets, sharp fangs

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology threading three timelines via a mass disappearance. From Zach Cregger fronted by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, an intimate body horror unraveling including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

Then there is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story featuring Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it nods to There Will Be Blood beside Let the Right One In. The story probes American religious trauma by way of supernatural allegory. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all lean on grief, loss, and identity, favoring allegory over fireworks.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Landing October 2 across key streamers, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the arc centers on five strangers who wake inside a backcountry cabin, beneath Kyra’s command, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. This inside out possession reframes expectation and groups Young & Cursed with a rising current, intimate character dramas within genre.

The platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, angle the film as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel load and monster re ups. It is canny scheduling. No bloated mythology. No series drag. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF act as proving grounds for the next waves. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate bows as a tropical body horror opener with Cronenberg and Herzog echoes. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance is on track for grief tuned elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Series Horror: Reups, Reboots, and Rethinks

The legacy lineup looks stronger and more deliberate than prior years.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. The original’s social and streaming breakout emboldened Universal to double down.

Also on deck is The Long Walk, from an early, punishing Stephen King work, guided by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

Elsewhere, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda pepper the schedule, many waiting on strategic holds or late deals.

Signals and Trends

Mythic horror goes mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror ascends again
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Badges become bargaining chips
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

Outlook: Fall saturation and a winter joker

The combination of Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons across September and October saturates fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper must claw for air. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The success of horror in 2025 hinges less on a single title and more on how a diverse slate reaches a scattered, segmented audience. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The approaching spook cycle: next chapters, filmmaker-first projects, And A loaded Calendar geared toward Scares

Dek: The current scare calendar crams early with a January bottleneck, and then runs through the summer months, and running into the holiday frame, braiding series momentum, original angles, and calculated counterprogramming. The major players are prioritizing cost discipline, cinema-first plans, and buzz-forward plans that frame these films into cross-demo moments.

Horror momentum into 2026

The horror marketplace has proven to be the surest play in distribution calendars, a segment that can scale when it resonates and still safeguard the floor when it falls short. After the 2023 year reassured leaders that responsibly budgeted scare machines can drive the national conversation, the following year held pace with auteur-driven buzzy films and slow-burn breakouts. The carry fed into 2025, where re-entries and prestige plays confirmed there is a market for different modes, from returning installments to director-led originals that perform internationally. The end result for the 2026 slate is a calendar that is strikingly coherent across companies, with planned clusters, a balance of brand names and first-time concepts, and a tightened emphasis on theater exclusivity that increase tail monetization on premium digital rental and digital services.

Executives say the horror lane now serves as a utility player on the release plan. Horror can kick off on most weekends, provide a easy sell for previews and UGC-friendly snippets, and over-index with ticket buyers that appear on opening previews and sustain through the follow-up frame if the picture fires. Post a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 pattern shows trust in that setup. The slate begins with a front-loaded January schedule, then targets spring into early summer for alternate plays, while holding room for a September to October window that flows toward the Halloween corridor and beyond. The schedule also shows the ongoing integration of indie arms and SVOD players that can launch in limited release, grow buzz, and widen at the sweet spot.

An added macro current is IP cultivation across linked properties and heritage properties. Studio teams are not just producing another sequel. They are shaping as lineage with a headline quality, whether that is a art treatment that flags a fresh attitude or a cast configuration that connects a incoming chapter to a foundational era. At the in tandem, the writer-directors behind the most buzzed-about originals are championing on-set craft, makeup and prosthetics and grounded locations. That alloy provides the 2026 slate a vital pairing of home base and novelty, which is what works overseas.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount plants an early flag with two headline plays that span tone from serious to silly. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the heart, marketing it as both a baton pass and a classic-mode character-first story. Filming is underway in Atlanta, and the authorial approach points to a classic-referencing bent without retreading the last two entries’ sibling arc. The studio is likely to mount a drive rooted in classic imagery, character previews, and a staggered trailer plan aimed at late fall. Distribution is theatrical via Paramount.

Paramount also resurrects a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will play up. As a summer contrast play, this one will drive mass reach through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format making room for quick pivots to whatever tops trend lines that spring.

Universal has three unique releases. SOULM8TE launches January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is elegant, grief-rooted, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man brings home an algorithmic mate that becomes a fatal companion. The date slots it at the front of a crowded corridor, with Universal’s promo team likely to replay uncanny-valley stunts and snackable content that threads longing and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio lines up an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under internal titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which makes room for a name unveil to become an headline beat closer to the opening teaser. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Capping the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has owned before. Peele’s releases are framed as marquee events, with a teaser that holds back and a subsequent trailers that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date allows Universal to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then use the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček commands, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has shown that a visceral, makeup-driven treatment can feel deluxe on a disciplined budget. Look for a hard-R summer horror hit that leans into global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is particularly deep. The studio launches two brand-forward plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, maintaining a trusty supernatural brand alive while the spin-off branch advances. The studio has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where the brand has performed historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what the studio is marketing as a new take for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both devotees and first-timers. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build promo materials around lore, and creature effects, elements that can increase deluxe auditorium demand and fandom activation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, plants a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film advances the filmmaker’s run of period horror driven this content by historical precision and linguistic texture, this time focused on werewolf legend. The company has already locked the day for a holiday release, a signal of faith in the auteur as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is positive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on proven patterns. The studio’s horror films feed copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a ladder that enhances both opening-weekend urgency and sub growth in the later phase. Prime Video interleaves library titles with cross-border buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in archive usage, using editorial spots, Halloween hubs, and editorial rows to extend momentum on the annual genre haul. Netflix retains agility about Netflix originals and festival additions, securing horror entries near their drops and framing as events premieres with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, uses a paired of targeted cinema placements and fast windowing that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a per-project basis. The platform has proven amenable to board select projects with name filmmakers or star-led packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leverages the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for sustained usage when the genre conversation peaks.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 track with two brand-forward moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is straightforward: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a diehard favorite, upgraded for modern sonics and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has positioned a standard theatrical run for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the autumn weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then activating the holiday slot to open out. That positioning has helped for auteur horror with broader reach. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a sprinkle of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception drives. Be ready for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that plays Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using small theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their community.

Known brands versus new stories

By count, 2026 tips toward the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap fan equity. The concern, as ever, is viewer burnout. The workable fix is to brand each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is emphasizing character and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a French-flavored turn from a hot helmer. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and talent-first projects keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with signature mischievous dread. SOULM8TE offers a sharp, spooky tech hook. Werwulf emphasizes period craft and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the bundle is grounded enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday-night crowds.

Recent comps illuminate the model. In 2023, a theater-first model that respected streaming windows did not foreclose a day-date move from succeeding when the brand was robust. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror outperformed in premium screens. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they alter lens and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The twin-shoot approach, with chapters shot back-to-back, enables marketing to connect the chapters through cast and motif and to maintain a flow of assets without lulls.

Technique and craft currents

The shop talk behind this slate point to a continued bias toward real, location-led craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not track with any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that leans on mood and dread rather than fireworks, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most shadowed project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and authentic period speech, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely seed this aesthetic in deep-dive features and craft features before rolling out a preview that leans on mood over plot, a move that has succeeded for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for red-band excess, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and produces shareable crowd-reaction snippets from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta recalibration that centers its original star. Resident Evil will fly or stall on monster realization and design, which match well with con floor moments and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel definitive. Look for trailers that elevate precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that play in premium auditoriums.

The schedule at a glance

January is busy. Universal’s SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a tonal palate cleanser amid heavier IP. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a stranded thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is thick, but the spread of tones carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth holds.

February through May prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, New Line’s The Mummy restores a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now sustains big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 leads into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

Shoulder season into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously clicked. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a shoulder season window that still bridges into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film books October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely supported by a peekaboo tease plan and limited information drops that elevate concept over story.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can play the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to ride the cycle into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can open up in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and card redemption.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting in progress as production moves. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative revisits the original film’s core. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s artificial companion grows into something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially with the first film. Positioning: next step of a prestige infection saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to face a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Complete with theatrical path. Positioning: ambience-forward adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her tough boss struggle to survive on a isolated island as the chain of command upends and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot complete. Positioning: star-front survival film from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A renewed take that returns the monster to chill, driven by Cronin’s practical craft and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A residential haunting piece that threads the dread through a youth’s shifting POV. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-supported and star-led supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A satirical comeback that satirizes of-the-moment horror beats and true crime fixations. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: production booked for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites spreads, with an globe-spanning twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: The Further opens again, with a fresh family bound to ancient dread. Rating: pending. Production: eying a summer shoot for late-summer slot. Positioning: trusted supernatural label in a supportive window.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: A clean reboot designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on survival horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: to be announced. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: canon-conscious reboot with mainstream reach.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: purposely secretive. Rating: undetermined. Production: underway. Positioning: director-fronted event with teaser rhythm.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period-precise speech and raw menace. Rating: TBA. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. Positioning: high-craft holiday horror with awards-season tail.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a big-screen run before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026, why now

Three execution-level forces define this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or re-slotted in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and tighter schedules. Second, studios have become more measured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently out-earned straight-to-streaming releases. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on repeatable beats from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

Calendar math also matters. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, creating valuable space for genre entries that can seize a weekend or stand as the older-leaning counter. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will coexist across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can capitalize on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the Goldilocks zone. Most of the films above will land under the $40–$50 million mark, with many far below. That allows for aggressive PLF bookings without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Evil Dead Burn, Werwulf, and possibly Resident Evil depending on the final cut. Scream 7, Insidious, and SOULM8TE can plausibly land PG-13 to maximize reach, though each franchise has toggled between ratings in the past. Specialty plays tend to lean R to preserve tone and intensity.

The surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where modest-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to harvest those lanes. January could easily deliver the first dark-horse hit of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Anticipate a robust PVOD phase across the board, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

Audience cadence through 2026

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing for date nights and group outings, July goes red-band, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a shadowed, literate nightmare. That is how you keep the discourse going and the seats filled without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, lean footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, sonics, and image-making that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Shapes Up Strong

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is name recognition where it counts, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, keep the secrets, and let the shocks sell the seats.